Liquid ibuprofen compositions for oral administration are known in the art. One approach to such a formulation is to suspend the finely divided ibuprofen, which is essentially insoluble in water, in an aqueous medium with suspending agents and sweetening agents to mask the bitter taste of any dissolved ibuprofen.
One such composition is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,666 as a stabilized liquid ibuprofen syrup suitable for oral administration comprising from 50 to 400 mg of ibuprofen per 5 ml of syrup, the ibuprofen being suspended in an aqueous liquid having more than 50% by weight of a polyhydric alcohol bodying agent, a sweetening agent and a pH of higher than 7.0 and below 7.7. Another such composition is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,220 wherein the ibuprofen is maintained in suspension by the primary suspending agents xanthan gum, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and polysorbate 80, wherein the ibuprofen is taste-masked with sucrose and sorbitol solution and the pH is maintained at about 3.5 to 5. Another approach is to form a salt of ibuprofen with, for example, aluminum as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,580. Such aluminum ibuprofen salts, which are essentially tasteless are not soluble in water and are also formulated with suspending agents and sweeteners.